College life revolves around three main concerns: classes, studying and socializing (although not necessarily in that order). Given all the pressures that the modern student is under throughout their education, it can often feel like there’s no time left to dedicate to working out a more ecologically friendly lifestyle.

However, living a greener lifestyle needn’t be that difficult. By making just a few relatively small changes and breaking a few common habits, it’s easy to reduce your carbon footprint and do your bit for the environment – while still finding time to keep up with your studies.

Here are five simple ways that you can become a more ecologically conscious student.

Recycle

As a student, you are no doubt used to going through half a forest’s worth of paper every semester. Think about all the notes, assignments, and other revision materials that you print out; it quickly adds up to a significant amount of paper. This is an immediate and obvious opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint, by both recycling the paper that you no longer need and by buying recycled paper whenever possible. University campuses will have recycling facilities for students who live on campus; those off campus should have access to local recycling facilities.

Save Paper

There’s no avoiding the need to use a considerable amount of paper during your time as a student, but there are some simple things that you can do in order to make sure that the paper you do use has a minimal environmental impact. For example, when you need to buy a textbook, try and source it second-hand. Not only is buying used the more eco-friendly option, it will also save you money (and if there’s one group of people who could do with some easy savings, it’s students!).

Another easy way of reducing the amount of paper you use is to go digital when it comes to taking notes. By using a laptop or tablet to take notes, you can remove one of the biggest sources of excess paper from your educational career. Just make sure that you are able to take notes on your computer in a format which you can revisit later. If you need to do it by hand in order to make useful notes, then do so.

Another way of saving paper is to study online. This is a greener alternative because your course materials will be mostly or entirely digital. You can now find online courses relevant to just about any vocation, including training to be a vet – for example, through best-vettechschools.com.

Buy a Reusable Water Bottle

With so many drinks on store shelves, many of which claim some pretty impressive health benefits, it can be hard choosing the right one. No matter what might have been added to these drinks, however, there is nothing that can quite beat the all-around health benefits of water. Water is something that your body needs, and given how easy it is to access and how vital it is to our healthy functioning, it might surprise you to discover that many of us spend our lives in a state of chronic dehydration. By reusing a water bottle, you can not only ensure that you stay hydrated; you will also be doing your bit to reduce the number of plastic bottles out there.

By following these simple tips, you will be well on your way to living a greener lifestyle and being the envy of all your most environmentally conscious friends.